Egg carton denester machine

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to an article denesting apparatus wherein nested articles are supplied in stacked form and mechanism is provided for separating a lowermost article from the stack while supporting the remaining articles of the stack. The apparatus includes a continuously operating combined rotary and reciprocatory movement drive mechanism for the support and separator bars of the apparatus.

United States Patent Windstrup et al.

[is] 3,701,440 [451 '0ct.3l,1972

[54] EGG CARTON DENESTER MACHINE [72] Inventors: Robert F. Windstrup; Charles J. Chebuhar, both of Chicago, Ill.

[73] Assigneez Continental Can Company, Inc.,

New York, N.Y.

[22] Filed: June 20,1969

21 Appl.No.: 834,952

[52] U.S. CI. ..2l4/8.5 A, 221/251 [51] Int. Cl 865g 59/06 [58] Field of Search ..214/8.5 A, 8.5, 8.5 K;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Schneider ..214/s.s K ux FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,024,427 8/1941 1 Sweden ..2l4/8.5K 1,224,657 9/1966 Germany ..221/221 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner--George F. Abraham Attorney-Billet, Brown, Ramil & Holt [57] ABSTRACT This disclosure relates to an article denesting apparatus wherein nested articles are supplied in stacked form and mechanism is provided for separating a lowermost article from the stack while supporting the remaining articles of the stack. The apparatus includes a continuously operating combined rotary and reciprocatory movement drive mechanism for the support and separator bars of the apparatus.

11 Claims 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED B 3. 701.440

' sum u nr 4 IFIG .5

INVENTORS ROBERT P. UHNDSTRUP 8" CHARLES J CHEBUHRR ATTORNEYS panyin g drawings.

This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in mechanisms for denesting stacked articles, and more particularly to a denesting apparatus for egg cartons.

It is customary to stack nested egg cartons and to provide mechanisms which transversely reciprocate with respect to the stacked cartons so as to alternately support the stack by means of the lowermost carton and the next lowermost carton with the lowermost carton being repeatedly forceably moved into separated relation with respect to the remainder of the cartons and deposited on a conveying mechanism. However, existing machines have drive mechanisms for the various support and separator bars which are complex and involve relatively heavy reciprocating forces so as to limit the speed of operation thereof.

In accordance with this invention, it is proposed to provide a novel drive mechanism for the support and separator bars, which drive mechanism includes rotating crank units which are connected to supports for the bars to effect the reciprocation thereof in the normal manner of a reciprocating engine drive assembly. Such a drive mechanism greatly reduces the reciprocatory forces involved and permits a much higher rate of operation of the denesting apparatus.

In accordance with this invention, at each side of the stack of the nested articles there is provided a combined article supporting and separating unit which includes vertically adjacent support and separator bars which are mounted for reciprocating movement only. The two bars of each combined unit are operated in unison for movement in opposite directions by means of a lever which is centrally pivoted. One barof each pair of bars is driven by a crank assembly through a connecting bar or rod. In view of the fact thatthe elements of the denesting apparatus which reciprocate are relatively light in weight and the drive mechanism has primarily rotary movement, it will be readily apparent that there is no great reciprocating force which unnecessarily restricts the speed of operation of the denesting apparatus.

The denesting apparatus further includes as part of the crank assembly, a pair of crank members mounted for rotation in unison and a crank bar extending between and connected to the crank members for movement thereby, the crank bar, in addition to beingv connected to the support bar and separator bar for effecting the reciprocation thereof, carries an article carrier which receives a denested article and conveys the same downwardly away from the stack of articles toward a conveyor so as to assure the proper movement of a released article away from the stack.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description, the appended claimed subject matter, and the several views illustrated in the accom- IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carton denesting apparatus formed in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken alongthe line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and shows the specific details of the denesting apparatus and the drive therefor.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal vertical. sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2 and shows further the details of the denesting apparatus and the drive.

FIG. 4 is an exaggerated perspective view showing the specific details of the support bar and separator bar and the connections therebetween.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the general relationship of the support and separator bars and carton carriers with respect to a stack. of nested cartons.

- FIG. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. -5 and. shows the denesting apparatus at the time a lowermost carton has been separated from the stack. 7

' FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 and shows the separated carton in the fully released position with the stack of cartons being supported solely by the separator bars.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 and shows the separator bars fully retracted and the stack of cartons supported solely by the support bars.

FIG. 9 is another sectional view similar to FIG. 6 and shows the separator bars passing in between the lower most carton and the next upper carton to initiate a further carton separating or denesting operation.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the denester machine is generally identified by the numeral 10. The denester machine 10 includes a frame which is generally identified by the numeral 11, which frame includes a base 12 which is of a generally C-shaped configuration and which has a forwardly opening, centrally disposed opening 13 therein.

The frame 11 also includes an upstanding rear plate 14 which is spaced forwardly of the rear edge of the base 12. The frame 11 also includes a pair of front plates 15 which extend upwardly from the forward portion of the base 12, but rearwardly of the forward edge thereof. A pair of intermediate plates 16 extend up wardly from the base 12 intermediate the rear plate 14 and the front plate 15.

The frame 11 includes a pair of sideplates 17 which are vertically spaced above the base 12 and extend vertically at the ends of the plates 14, 15 and 16 and are suitably connected thereto. Plates 14, 15 and 16 are also connected together by angle members 18.

In order to effect the guiding of a stack of nested articles, such as egg cartons, into the confines of the frame 11 for denesting of individual ones of the articles, the denester machine can also include suitable guides. These guides include guide members which project above the frame 11 and are supported from the angle members 18. Such guides include a pair of rear guides 20 which are supported by brackets 21, a pair of front guides 22 which are supported by brackets 23 and a pair of side guides 24 which are directly mounted on the angle members 18.

As is shown in FIG. 2, additional guides 25 are mounted generally within the confines of the frame 11 for the final guidance of a stack of articles. The guides 25 will be generally centered between the plates 15 and 16 and will be suitably supported from these plates. The details of the various guides not being a part of this invention, no further discussion will be made with respect thereto except to determine the fact that the guides do cooperate to accurately position a stack of cartons within the frame 1 1.

In order to effect the separation of a lowermost article, such as an egg carton, from a nested stack of articles, and at the same time to provide continued support for the stack of nested articles, the denester machine is provided at opposite sides of the central portion of the frame 11 with'pairs of support bars 30 and pairs of separator bars 31. As is best shown in FIG. 4, each support bar 30 is mounted in association with one of the separator bars 31 immediately therebelow. The support bar 30 has a wedge shaped nose portion 32 to facilitate the movement thereof beneath a stack of articles. On the other hand, the separator bar 31 is of a tapered punch-like configuration so as to facilitate the entry thereof between a pair of nested articles to effect the separation of the two articles.

It will be seen that the support bar 30 is carried by a rod-like support 33 and is seated in a notch 34 formed in the upper part of the forward end thereof. The separator bar 31 is seated in a slot on the lower front side of a shaft 35.

In order to facilitate the concurrent reciprocation of the support bar 30 and the separator bar 31 in opposite directions, each of the rods 33 and 35 has a bifurcated rear end portion identified by the numerals 36 and 37, respectively. A link 38 is pivotally connected by means of a pin 40 to the rod 33 while a link 41 is pivotally connected to the rod 35 by means of a pin 42. The links 38 and 41 are in turn connected to opposite ends of a lever 43 by means of pins 44 and 45, respectively. The lever 43, in turn, is pivotally mounted on the centrally located pivot 46.

In order to effect the reciprocatory movement of the support bar 30 and the separator bar 31, there is provided a connecting bar or rod 47 which is secured to the shaft 35 by means of a pivot 42. The forward end of the connecting bar 47 is provided with a fastener 48 for connecting the same to a crank bar, to be described hereinafter, for relative pivotal movement.

Referring now to FIG. 3 in particular, it will be seen that the opposed faces of the plates 15 and 16 are machined to define recesses as at 50. In each recess 50 there is positioned a guide block 51. It is to be noted that the guide block 51 includes basically a plate portion 52 and a pair of integral, vertically spaced, shorter guide portions 53 and 54. Each guide portion 53 receives one of the shafts 35 while each guide portion 54 receives one of the shafts 33.

The denester machine 10 also includes a drive mechanism which is generally identified by the numeral 55, and which drive mechanism 55 includes a crank assembly, generally identified by the numeral 56, for each side of the denester machine. The crank assemblies 56 are disposed between the plates 15 and 16.

Each crank assembly 56 includes a pair of circular crank members 57 and 58 which are positioned adjacent the plate 16 and which carry eccentrically mounted pins 60 and 61, respectively.

The pins 60 and 61 are disposed in like angular relation and have mounted thereon for movement therewith a generally vertically extending crank bar 62. The pivots 48 carried by the connecting bars 47 are secured to the opposite sides of the central portion of the crank bar 62. Thus, as the crank bar 62 is oscillated, the shafts 35 and their respective separator bars 31 are reciprocated. It will be readily apparent that 4 reciprocation of the separator bar 31 will result in like reciprocation of the support bar 30, but in the opposite direction.

The upper crank member 57 is carried by a shaft 64 which passes through the plates 14 and 16 and is rotatably joumalled in bearings 65 and 66 carried by the plates 16 and 14, respectively. In a like manner, the crank member 58 is mounted on a shaft 67 which also extends through the plates 14 and 16 and is supported by bearings 68 and 69 carried by the plates 14 and 16, respectively.

The shaft 67 is driven by means of a sprocket 70 which is mounted exteriorly of the frame 1 1. The shaft 67 also is provided with a gear 71 which is mounted adjacent the plate 14 within the frame 1 1. In addition, the shaft 70 is provided with a counterbalance 72 disposed adjacent the gear 71.

The shaft 64 is provided with a gear 73 which is of the same size as the gear 71 and which is aligned therewith. The gear 73 is driven from the gear 71 through an intermediate idler gear 74 carried by an idler shaft 75 supported by the plate 14.

Referring now to FIG. 1 in particular, it will be seen that the two sprockets on the shaft 67 are connected together by means of a drive chain 76 so that the two drive units 55 may be driven in timed relation, but in opposite directions. In order that this may be accomplished, it is necessary that the drive chain 76 pass around one of the sprockets 70, for example the lefthand sprocket 70, with the lower run of the drive chain 76 merely passing over the top portion of the righthand sprocket 70 and around an idler sprocket 77 mounted on a stub shaft 78 carried by the plate 14 adjacent the right-hand sprocket 70. The shaft 67 is provided with a further sprocket 80 which has coupled thereto a drive sprocket 81 of a drive shaft 82 by means of a drive chain 83.

It is to be noted that the denester machine 10 also includes a pair of opposed article carriers which are generally identified by the numeral 85. Each article carrier 85 includes a block 86 having a downwardly and inwardly sloping front face 87 particularly adapted to oppose a similarly sloping end of a bottom half of an egg carton. At the upper end of the block 86, there is provided a carton engaging member 88 having a central projecting nose 90 which is particularly adapted to engage beneath the central part of the flange of a lower half of an egg carton at one end thereof.

The article carrier 85 is carried by a support rod 91 which, in turn, is mounted in a horizontal extension of an associated crank bar 62. The support bar 91 is slidably mounted in the crank bar 62 and is resiliently urged by means of a spring 93 generally toward the interior of the frame 11, as is specifically shown in FIG. 2.

It is to be noted that the inward movement of the article carrier 85 is restricted by means of a pair of vertical guides 94 which are mounted on the base 12 by means of an angle member 95 and which are engaged by followers 96 mounted on opposite ends of a shaft which is secured to and extends transversely of the support bar 91.

OPERATION With particular reference to FIG. 8, it will be seen that in an inoperative position of the denester machine 10, articles, such as eg cartons C, arranged in nested relation in a stack are supported by the support bars 30 with the separator bars 31v and the article carriers 85 retracted.

In the operation of the denester machine, as the crank members rotate towardtheir l2-oclock" positions, the separator bars 31 are advanced in between the lowermost carton and the next upper carton of the stack of cartons while the support bars 30 are being retracted. At the same time, the article carriers 85 are moved vertically upwardly. This position is bestshown in FIG. 9. At this time the separator bars 31 are functioning to loosen the lowermost carton from its nested relation with respect to the remainder of the stack while at the same time slightly lifting the stack of car- IOIIS.

the previous lowermost carton, is supported by the separator bars 31. At the same time, the lowermost carton has been forceably separated from the stack bythe separator bars 31 and has moved downwardly. How- 'ever, at the same time, the article carriers 85 have moved downwardly and toward one another so as to engage above the flange 100 at the opposite ends of the bottom half of the egg carton, each egg carton C, as is best shown in FIGS, including a centrally located bottom half 101 and a pair of joined top quarters 102 which are inwardly connected to the bottom half 101 along fold areas 103 which are aligned with the separator bars 31.

It is to be understood fromFIG. 6 that the separated or released carton is carried downwardly by the article carriers 85 so as to assure the parallel movement of the carton and the direction thereof onto an underlying conveyor assembly which is generally identified by the numeral 105. The conveyor assembly 105 includes a pair of parallel conveyor chains 106 disposed on opposite sides of a support plate 107 Referring now to FIG. 7, it will be seen that as the crank members 58 rotate to their"6-oclock positions, the separator bars 31 are being retracted while the support bars'30 are being projected. Atthe same time, the article carriers 85 have reached the downward limit of their movement and, have moved apart so as to permit the free downward movement of the separated carton C down onto the conveyor assembly 105. I

It is to be understood that when the separator bars 31 are retracted to their fully released positions of FIG. 8, the stack of cartons C will move down onto the support bars 30 and be supported solely thereby.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing description of the denesting machine that the reciprocating components of the denestingequipment are relatively light and therefore the reciprocating forces of the denester machine are not unduly great. 0n the other hand, the drive mechanism includes counterweights 72 which largely eliminate any unbalanced reciprocating forces. Accordingly, it is possible to operate the denester machine at a much higher speed than previously possible for denester machines.

It will be readily apparent thatthis is an important feature in a machine of this type in that it is desirable to dispense the cartons accurately and as fast as possible.

Although only a preferred embodiment of the denester machine has been specifically illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that minor variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

,1. An article denesting apparatus comprising a guide unit for positioning nested articles in stacked relation, and combined article supporting and separating units disposed in opposed relation at opposite sides of said guide unit, each of said combined units including a support bar and a separator bar disposed in adjacent parallel relation and mounted for reciprocatory movement only into and out of the path of movement of stacked articles through said guide unit, a lever interconnecting said bars for simultaneous opposite movement, and crank means for effecting reciprocation of said bars, said crank means including a pair of crank members for each of said units mounted for rotation about spaced parallel axes in unison, a crank bar extending between and connectedto said crank members for movement thereby, and means drivingly connecting said crank bar to its respective unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the connection between said crank members and said crank bar pro vides for movement of said crank bar thereby between a succession of parallel positions.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means drivingly connecting said crank bar to its respective unit is in the form of a connecting link connecting said crank bar to one of the first mentioned bars to effect reciprocation of said support bar and said separator bar.

4. An article denesting apparatus comprising a guide unit for positioning nested articles in stacked relation, and combined article supporting and separating units disposed in opposed relation at opposite sides of said guide unit, each of said combined units including a support bar and a separator bar disposed in adjacent parallel relation and mounted for reciprocatory movement only into and out of the path of movement of stacked articles through said guide unit, a lever interconnecting said bars for simultaneous opposite movement, and crank means for effecting reciprocation of said bars, said crank means including a pair of crank members mounted for rotation in unison and. a crank bar extending between and connected to said crank members for movement thereby, and an article carrier carried by said crank bar for movement therewith for receiving a released article and conveying the released article away from the stack.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein there are two of 7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said article carrier is slidably carried by said crank bar for movement parallel to said support bar and said separator bar, means resiliently urging said article carrier towards an article supporting position, and means separate from said crank bar for limiting the resiliently urged movement of said article carrier for alignment with stacked articles.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said article, carrier is particularly adapted for engagement with egg cartons and including an upper nose for engagement with an end of a carton bottom half centrally thereof.

9. An article denesting apparatus comprising a guide unit for positioning nested articles in stacked relation, and combined article supporting and separating units disposed in opposed relation at opposite sides of said guide unit, each of said combined units including a support bar and a separator bar disposed in adjacent parallel relation and mounted for reciprocatory movement only into and out of the path of movement of stacked articles through said guide unit, a lever interconnecting said bars for simultaneous opposite movement, and crank means for effecting reciprocation of said bars, said separator bar having means thereon for wedged engagement between two nested article to cause separation of the articles in addition to supporting the uppermost one of the articles.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said apparatus is particularly adapted for denesting articles having closely spaced flange portions, and said separator bar means for wedged engagement is in the form of a pointed end for insertion between and applying a separating wedging force between two adjacent flange portions.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said support bar has an article supporting surface generally facing said separator bar and-in closely adjacent relation thereto. 

1. An article denesting apparatus comprising a guide unit for positioning nested articles in stacked relation, and combined article supporting and separating units disposed in opposed relation at opposite sides of said guide unit, each of said combined units including a support bar and a separator bar disposed in adjacent parallel relation and mounted for reciprocatory movement only into and out of the path of movement of stacked articles through said guide unit, a lever interconnecting said bars for simultaneous opposite movement, and crank means for effecting reciprocation of said bars, said crank means including a pair of crank members for each of said units mounted for rotation about spaced parallel axes in unison, a crank bar extending between and connected to said crank members for movement thereby, and means drivingly connecting said crank bar to its respective unit.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the connection between said crank members and said crank bar provides for movement of said crank bar thereby between a succession of parallel positions.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means drivingly connecting said crank bar to its respective unit is in the form of a connecting link connecting said crank bar to one of the first mentioned bars to effect reciprocation of said support bar and said separator bar.
 4. An article denesting apparatus comprising a guide unit for positioning nested articles in stacked relation, and combined article supporting and separating units disposed in opposed relation at opposite sides of said guide unit, each of said combined units including a support bar and a separator bar disposed in adjacent parallel relation and mounted for reciprocatory movement only into and out of the path of movement of stacked articles through said guide unit, a lever interconnecting said bars for simultaneous opposite movement, and crank means for effecting reciprocation of said bars, said crank means including a pair of crank members mounted for rotation in unison and a crank bar extending between and connected to said crank members for movement thereby, and an article carrier carried By said crank bar for movement therewith for receiving a released article and conveying the released article away from the stack.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein there are two of said combined units at each of two opposite sides of said guide with the crank bar being disposed between the two combined units.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein there are separate crank means for each of said combined units for operating the support bar and the separator bar of the two combined units in unison but in opposite directions, and interconnected drive means for the two crank means.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said article carrier is slidably carried by said crank bar for movement parallel to said support bar and said separator bar, means resiliently urging said article carrier towards an article supporting position, and means separate from said crank bar for limiting the resiliently urged movement of said article carrier for alignment with stacked articles.
 8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said article carrier is particularly adapted for engagement with egg cartons and including an upper nose for engagement with an end of a carton bottom half centrally thereof.
 9. An article denesting apparatus comprising a guide unit for positioning nested articles in stacked relation, and combined article supporting and separating units disposed in opposed relation at opposite sides of said guide unit, each of said combined units including a support bar and a separator bar disposed in adjacent parallel relation and mounted for reciprocatory movement only into and out of the path of movement of stacked articles through said guide unit, a lever interconnecting said bars for simultaneous opposite movement, and crank means for effecting reciprocation of said bars, said separator bar having means thereon for wedged engagement between two nested article to cause separation of the articles in addition to supporting the uppermost one of the articles.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said apparatus is particularly adapted for denesting articles having closely spaced flange portions, and said separator bar means for wedged engagement is in the form of a pointed end for insertion between and applying a separating wedging force between two adjacent flange portions.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said support bar has an article supporting surface generally facing said separator bar and in closely adjacent relation thereto. 